The order has become a long service order for people in the civil service and is awarded alternatively with the Order of the Crown, as the Order of Leopold is awarded under rarer circumstances. The Order currently stands third after the Order of Leopold (1st) and the Order of the Crown (2nd) in the Belgian honors hierarchy. The Order of Leopold II is awarded by Royal Decree.
ClassesThe Order of Leopold II is issued in five classes and three medals:
•Grand Cross, who wears the badge on a sash on the right shoulder, plus a plaque on the left chest;
•Grand Officer, who wears only a plaque on the left chest;
•Commander, who wears the badge on a necklet;
•Officer, who wears the badge on a ribbon with rosette on the left chest;
•Knight, who wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest;
•Gold Medal, who wears the medal on the left chest;
•Silver Medal, who wears the medal on the left chest;
•Bronze Medal, who wears the medal on the left chest.
Insignia•The badge of the Order is a metal Maltese Cross, in silver for the Knight class and in gold for the higher classes, with a wreath of laurel leaves of the same metal between the arms of the cross. The obverse central disc features a lion on a black enamel background surrounded by a blue enamel ring with the motto "Unity Is Strength" in French (L'union fait la force) and in Dutch (Eendracht maakt macht). The badge is topped by a crown of the same metal. Up to the inclusion of the Order of Leoplold II in the Belgian National Orders, the central disk showed an enamelled blue, black and white crest of the Congo Free State and the motto Travail et Progrès.
•The plaque for Grand Cross is a faceted silver five-pointed star with golden rays between the branches of the star. The centre shows the obverse of a commander's cross. The plaque for Grand Officer is a faceted five-armed 'Maltese Asterisk' (see Maltese Cross), with golden rays between the arms. The centre shows the obverse of an officer's cross.
•The medal shows the shape of the Order badge imprinted in a metal shape that is vaguely octagonal and looks like a closed florian cross. The metal of the Medal is gold for the Gold Medal, Silver for the Silver Medal and Bronze for the Bronze Medal.
•The ribbon of the Order is blue with a central black stripe. However, if the Order is awarded in special circumstances, the ribbon of the Officer and Knight classes show the following variations:
◦Crossed swords are added to the ribbon when awarded in wartime (if the Order was awarded during the Second World War or during the Korean War, a small bar is added to the ribbon mentioning the name of the war);
◦The ribbon has a vertical gold border on both sides when awarded for a special act of valour;
◦The ribbon has a central vertical gold stripe in the middle of the black stripe when awarded for an exceptionally meritorious act;
◦A gold star is added to the ribbon when the recipient has been mentioned in despatches at the national level;
◦Silver or gold palms are added to the ribbon when awarded in wartime to military personnel.
Stars and borders or stripes can be awarded together, but these deviations are currently only rarely awarded.
Originally, the central stripe of the ribbon was white, as blue and white were the colours of the Congo Free State.
The ribbon bar of the order, which is worn on the semi-formal dress uniform is:
